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Lead Us Not into Temptation, But Deliver Us from the Evil One (5 of 5) byTerry J. Hallock

Lead Us Not into Temptation, But Deliver Us from the Evil One (5 of 5)
Series: Perfecting Prayer's Power
Terry J. Hallock
July 25, 1999

We now come to the concluding portion of Jesus' model for perfecting prayer's power. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (Mt. 6:13, NIV). Without this verse none of the petitions which precede it are possible. Without freedom from temptation God's kingdom will not come and His will cannot be done. Without deliverance from evil no daily manna from the tables of heaven will flow into our hungry lives. Without God's kingdom, power, and glory there can be no forgiveness of our debts let alone the forgiveness of our debtors. Verse 13 is the period at the end of the Lord's Prayer's sentence. Without it everything about prayer falls apart. Allow me to take you through a quick word study of the first part of this petition, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." If we are to grasp the full power of Jesus' teaching it is essential we understand the exact meanings of the words He so carefully and deliberately chose.

The Greek word for "temptation" is "peirasmos". As used in verse 13 it means "the condition of things or a mental state by which we are enticed to sin or to lapse from faith or holiness." Through appeals to the desires of our flesh, the aim of temptation is to entice us so that we will turn our mind from God and voluntarily surrender to self-destruction. When, for example, temptation entices a person to alcohol that person doesn't say, "I think I'll drink so much that I'll fry my brain, destroy my liver, ruin my family, loose my friends, and squander my money." No, they say, "Alcohol makes me feel good. It takes away my stress, fear, and loneliness." Temptation first deceives, then it imprisons, and finally it destroys. And it does it with its victim's willing participation.

"And lead us not into temptati ...

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